Former President Donald Trump reportedly said canvassers in Michigan would look "terrible" if they certified the 2020 presidential election.
Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel also reportedly joined Trump in his warning to members of the Wayne County, Michigan Board of Canvassers, per a Thursday report from The Detroit News.
According to the report, two weeks after the 2020 presidential election, the former President said Wayne County GOP canvasser Monica Palmer and William Hartmann would look "terrible" if they certified the election.
“We’ve got to fight for our country,” Trump allegedly said in a 30-minute phone call during a Wayne County Board of Canvassers meeting. “We can’t let these people take our country away from us.”
“If you can go home tonight, do not sign it," Trump reportedly said, per the outlet. "We will get you attorneys."
The former President added, "We'll take care of that."
On Nov. 17, 2020, the Wayne County Board of Canvassers reached a deadlock with Palmer and Hartmann voting 2-2 on certifying the election results. Michigan GOP Chairwoman Laura Cox reportedly said she was "proud" of the party and said the Trump campaign showed "enough evidence" on voter fraud.
“I am proud that, due to the efforts of the Michigan Republican Party, the Republican National Committee and the Trump Campaign, enough evidence of irregularities and potential voter fraud was uncovered resulting in the Wayne County Board of Canvassers refusing to certify their election results,” Cox said.
However, Palmer and Hartmann changed their vote later that night and the board unanimously voted to certify the 2020 election in the state. Palmer and Hartmann both signed affidavits acknowledging they regretted their vote and claimed they faced "intense bullying and coercion" to switch their vote in favor of certifying the election.
“I rescind my prior vote to certify Wayne County elections,” Palmer said in the affidavit. “I fully believe the Wayne County vote should not be certified.”
Trump's campaign panned The Detroit News' report in a response to the outlet.
“All of President Trump’s actions were taken in furtherance of his duty as President of the United States to faithfully take care of the laws and ensure election integrity, including investigating the rigged and stolen 2020 Presidential Election. President Trump and the American people have the Constitutional right to free and fair elections,” campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement shared with The Daily Wire. “Crooked Joe Biden and the Democrats are spinning their wheels in the face of devastating polling numbers and desperately leaking misleading information to interfere in the election.”
McDaniel also issued a statement to The Detroit News reiterating her call for an audit of the 2020 presidential election in Michigan.
“What I said publicly and repeatedly at the time, as referenced in my letter on Nov. 21, 2020, is that there was ample evidence that warranted an audit,” said McDaniel.
